Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel must really not care for mid-majors. Especially you, Boise State.

In his final USA Today Top 25 coaches rankings, the ninth-year Tigers coach placed Boise State at No. 9 on his ballot.

Boise State was ranked No. 6 in just about every poll to close the year, so Pinkel didn’t monumentally tank the Broncos.

But Pinkel ranked two-loss Penn State at No. 8, two-loss Oregon at No. 7 and two-loss Ohio State at No. 6. All ahead of the undefeated Broncos.

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Nick Krug/Journal-World file photo: Pinkel at Big 12 Media Days in 2008

And perhaps most curious of all, Boise State beat Oregon in the first game of the season, 19-8.

As ESPN NFL analysts would say on Monday Night Countdown: “C’mon Man!”

Not only is Boise State undefeated, but the Broncos defeated Oregon straight up. It seems pretty clear-cut to me that Boise State should be ranked ahead of Oregon.

Not too sure of Pinkel’s rationale on that one.

That brings me to some thoughts on what kind of roles the two primary mid-majors — Boise State and TCU — will play this bowl season.

Is it just me, or is the BCS selection committee a bigger buzz kill than Buzz Killington for pairing Boise State up with TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 4?

I don’t have a problem with No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 Texas for the BCS Championship. I think a ton of college football fans would agree, though, that TCU could hang around with the Crimson Tide or the Longhorns.

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AP Photo: TCU tailback Ryan Christian (18) tiptoes his way into the end zone in this Nov. 15 file photo in Fort Worth, Texas.

Fine, so only two teams can play for the national title. But at least give these mid-majors a chance to prove themselves against powerhouse BCS opponents.

What do we get? TCU vs. Boise State. Just throw the mid-majors in the Fiesta Bowl and let them take out their undefeated anger on each other. Not too interesting, to me at least.

Suggestion: How neat would a TCU vs. Florida matchup be? Or maybe Boise State vs. an undefeated Cincinnati club? TCU vs. Florida would have a national championship sort of feel to it.

It would have been the second-best thing to TCU or Boise State getting a shot at the BCS Championship.

Now, it’s just going to keep people wondering.

As always, discuss.